Up until now, the man has never been identified. Citizens can provide information about this case by calling the Delphi murder tip line at 844-459-5786. A composite image of this man was released to the public months later, in June of 2017. Following his arrest, it was learned that this man - 31-year old Daniel J. Local store owner Laura Greene said that the community has never been the same after the murders. In addition, the FBI began utilizing roughly 6,000 electronic billboards across 46 states to spread images of the victims and the alleged culprit. I'll let you hear it for yourself. And at around 5:30 PM, the decision was made to report the girls as missing. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? According to online records, Mr Allen has lived in Delphi since at least 2006, and in Indiana his whole adult life. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Abigail "Abby" Williams, left, and Liberty "Libby" German are pictured in undated handout photos. this category of killers, not without exception, are the ones who document (pics, videos, even drawings) or take trophies or tokens. No comments for now, any questions please refer to the Carroll county prosecutors office. There was a a type that finds sexual gratification in the murder, not in actual sexual contact. Police uncovered additional information from German's phone revealing Kline had been in contact with her through his Instagram account under the name Anthony Shots. Abby Williams and Libby German, who were killed on Feb. 13, 2017, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. When I will go into CVS as a customer myself, he would say do you need any help? I would be like no, said Chandler Underhill, the manager of the local Brick & Mortar Pub, where he said Mr Allen was a regular. Hoping it is for the families of the girls and the girls themselves. Local businesses began donating proceeds and organizing events, including a February motorcycle benefit that brought more than 3,000 people to Delphi. (Allen has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his attorneys said in a statement that he has nothing to hide.). Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby did not believe the girls were in immediate danger, and did not think that further efforts - such as issuing an Amber Alert - would be necessary. Exactly. Previously he was labeled a person of interest, and police had said he might be only a witness to the crime. Additionally, he may have also had an alibi for the day of the murders, as well as having a lack of reliable transportation to-and-from the crime scene - which would make placing him at the location a near-impossibility. But the encroaching darkness was making the terrain nearly impossible to traverse, and with the temperature dropping below freezing, the search was called off shortly before midnight. It's a win/win. Even after the arrest of a suspect on Oct. 26, police have declined to answer most questions about the case, saying they dont want to jeopardize the prosecution. Police stated that they knew the specific details of the car, but wanted to filter out solid leads from people that actually might know the car's true owner. Authorities say they have uncovered evidence in the five-year-old murders of Williams and German and revealed the killer may have taken a souvenir after killing the teen girls. After all, more than 50 feet above the creek, this is the last place you'd want to trip. Who found the statement, and under what circumstances? Police believed that the girls were still alive, and had just decided to travel to a friend's house without telling their family; a belief that seemed to be based upon their age and very little else. The original composite sketch, according to Indiana State Police Sergeant Kim Riley, is "not presently a person of interest in this investigation." A muddy and bloody man was spotted at 4 p.m. walking near the crime scene. The family members of Abby and Libby - who were unaware of the information that would be shared - met with police just a short time before the press conference on Monday, April 22nd. The search for the two girls - which set off early that evening - was conducted by the aforementioned sheriff's department, as well as by members of the Delphi Police Department, the Delphi Fire Department, and the Department of Natural Resources. They began to explore the man as a possible person-of-interest in the ongoing Delphi investigation, and soon, El Paso County Sheriff's officials - who had apprehended the man in their Colorado jurisdiction - declared that there were "many similarities" between Nations and the still-unidentified killer from Indiana. There, they were accosted by a strange man - who they managed to capture in both video and audio. But I hope someday, they're able to come forward and be like, 'I'm sorry, I've been holding this back. On February 16th, 2017 - just two days after the girls' bodies were discovered in the woods - police conducted a search warrant at a home along West Bicycle Bridge Road, roughly 5 miles away from the crime scene on the other side of Delphi. 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Mr Underhill said that Mr Allen always seemed normal when he would come into the pub where he works. And then we'll get our answers. Nations - was a registered sex offender from Indiana that had been driving around with expired Indiana license plates. Not only did the town come together to raise awareness for this case, but began participating in fundraising efforts for the expenses the families would have to bears - memorial services, funerals, etc. He is a regular Joe-looking character - perhaps somewhat heavyset - who was wearing blue jeans, a Navy Blue-colored jacket, a hoodie underneath the jacket, and perhaps a paperboy-looking hat. The witness left, but reportedly told her husband about the strange encounter later that evening. The profile was used from 2016 to 2017 on platforms including Snapchat and Instagram and used photos of a known male model, portraying him as being extremely wealthy and owning numerous sports cars. If so, the clock is ticking on this individual's freedom. Police have rightfully withheld most of their evidence, and have even refused to state whether or not they have the culprit's DNA. Police would refuse to release any specific details about the case - such as how the two girls had been killed, how they were discovered, etc. Autopsies on the girls' bodies were conducted but the only information released to the public was the girls were found in a pool of blood, although a recording was recovered of the potential killer's voice. A local resident told Fox59 that Mr Allen currently works at the local CVS store coming into contact with members of the community as part of his job. This is quite the vague window, but investigators believe that the killer might look much younger than he actually is. Specifically, he said he walked on the Monon High Bridge, the abandoned railroad trestle where Libby German filmed a man telling the girls, Guys, down the hill, at 2:13 p.m. On February 18th, 2017 - the first Saturday after the murder of Libby and Abby - a public memorial service was held at the girls' school, which was attended by thousands of people that all gathered to say goodbye to the two girls. I wonder if he wanted to hurt a female that day, and bit off more than he can chew taking two girls. They ask anyone with any information to email [emailprotected]. "A large amount of blood was lost by the victims at the crime scene," the FBI search warrant read. A man named Richard Allen has reportedly been arrested and placed in a Carroll County Jail in connection to the Delphi murders, a source told Fox59. In it, the agent revealed that the girls had lost a lot of blood during their deaths and that their killer is believed to have moved and staged their bodies, before taking some sort of souvenir from the scene. His public defender did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. Both crimes took place on the 13th of the month. The bodies of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, were discovered Feb. 14, 2017 after the pair vanished while hiking on an Indiana trail. where Liberty German and Abigail Williams were seen before they were reported missing by their families on Feb. 13, 2017. You'll hear the original clip - of the man telling the girls "down the hill" - which is preceded by him saying the word "guys." Start your Independent Premium subscription today. I don't think there's multiple pieces of the puzzle. The car had apparently been parked on County Road 300 North, near the entrance to the bridge trail, close to the Hoosier Heartland Highway. He also allegedly said he may have been wearing some kind of head covering as well. This bridge - aptly named the Monon High Bridge - lives up to its namesake: it's roughly 60 feet tall, making it the 2nd highest bridge in all of Indiana. Police continued searching for details in the time-frame that this crime happened. I explored this story on this podcast just a few weeks ago, and went into detail about the various suspects that were investigated by police and theorized about in the media; none of whom seem to remain suspects or person-of-interest. Dru Moorhouse is the copy chief for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles. Liberty was attending Delphi Community Middle School, and was in the 8th grade. Speaking to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, Libby's grandfather Mike Patty stated: "We've been saying it all along: Someone knows something. Investigators believe the clip was recorded as criminal behavior was about to occur. In the case of Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins, their bodies were actually discovered by hunters. A rumored encounter was reported by an eyewitness the day after the murders, in an incident that I can only describe as bizarre. The reward is now up to $325,000. There, he proceeded to sexually assault two women, and when a third refused to comply with his demands, she was shot and killed. In fact, in a taunt to police back in 1988, he had written (in crayon) that he would kill again. ", Kaylee and Maddie might have been initial targets. Richard Allen, a 50-year-old married Delphi man, was taken into custody on Wednesday (26 October) and booked into Carroll County Jail. It was unknown if police recovered Libby's phone at the crime scene - or if the files were taken directly from the cloud backup her phone was linked to - but her quick-thinking had given police their first real lead in the case. Authorities conducted a nationwide search and received over 26k tips in the first year, but with scarce evidence, the killer was never found. - but these vague statements by police seem to indicate that there is no connection. Sergeant Kim Riley of the Indiana State Police stated: "We're checking their cell phones, we're checking their social media places - Twitter, Facebook and that - to see if there's some type of connection there. He has entered a plea of not guilty for the charges leveled against him, and I want you all to keep that in-mind: as of this episode's recording, Bruce is still innocent of all of these crimes. No one seems to consider the thought that there is more than one person involved in this. Some creeps get sexual satisfaction when others are hurt by their hands. The audio is muffled, but a male voice can be heard saying the words guys and down the hill.. Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday - and tune in to Monday's episode when it goes live this afternoon for even more about the Delphi Murders. John Miller was a 59-year old that lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana - roughly 100 miles southwest of Delphi. This followed an autopsy in Terra Haute, Indiana, but the results from that autopsy would be immediately sealed. A not guilty plea was entered on Chadwell's behalf. The documents, filed in 2020 and heavily redacted, do not mention the murders of Libby and Abby and he was not accused of involvement in their deaths. Not with him still out there. The probable cause affidavit says their clothes were found in the creek, south of their bodies. WebI dont think they were sexually assaulted in any conventional way. Delphi is a small town in the state of Indiana, about twenty miles northeast of Lafayette. You can help solve a crime and make yourself rich in the process. The police handling the separate cases have kept many details guarded, and refuse to budge on specifics. Of course, these circumstance seemed odd to police, who immediately began to suspect that this man's story might be worth pursuing. He is married and works as a pharmacy technician, receiving his most recent pharmaceutical licence in February 2018 one year on from the murders. Exactly right. He might have wanted to get them to another location but couldn't get them under control. Roughly one week after the murders - on February 22nd - a bomb threat was called into the meat-processing plant. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. We are very happy as a community. In addition, there are a number of other similarities. Mr Allen appears to have no prior criminal record. Kline was arrested in 2020 and was charged with child pornography and child exploitation in another case and has pleaded not guilty to both charges. Investigators in Indiana say they are looking into tips from the public, and say they continue to receive calls about the case every day. Heres a look at what we know so far. Looks like he probably may have not gone downstairs (where the surviving roommates lived). and i don't know enough about the cases to determine if there's sexual motivation in both cases. Instead, cellphone location data placed Mr Logan in the area around the trail at the time Abby and Libby disappeared. Cain said: "A lot of technology comes up in this case of devices that are being used to store child sexual abuse materials or communications with underage girls. Rather, this was probably someone that lived or worked in Delphi, or regularly visited for some other reason. For more on this story, watch The Delphi Killer on People Magazine Investigates, airing tonight at 10 ET/9 CT on Investigation Discovery and streaming on discovery+. He saw 2 girls while out walking on the railroad trestle. The warrant says it is likely the killer had blood stains on his clothes, although no one has ever been arrested for the girls' murders. WebJustice has eluded best friends Libby German and Abby Williams for more than four years now, as the person who abducted and murdered the Delphi, Ind., teens has never been He was photographed walking with his head down and his hands in his pockets. They have accepted DNA from prior suspects and other persons-of-interest, and seem to be ruling out individuals through forensic testing. The only detail that became public knowledge was that this discovery was made on a plot of land belonging to a local man named Ronald Logan, who police believe did not have anything to do with this crime. We can all put this behind us and Im very happy for the family, she said. Mr Logan owned the land on which Libby and Abbys bodies were found and his home was just 1,400 feet from the crime scene. The girl "said Chadwell tried to kill her," according to the affidavit. The FBI search warrant, obtained by theMurder Sheetpodcast and released toIndianapolis FOX59 did not provide information describing what the murder weapon might be or the cause of death. Police descriptions of stabbings sometimes use language such as bladed or edged weapons both words that would seem to fit the length of the redaction. Allens clothing that day is consistent with how witnesses described the man on the bridge. ", "Although we understand that people are trying to help the investigation, by doing this with zero evidence other than a mere appearance, it can also hurt or hinder an investigation.". When she approached, offering help, the young man told her that he was waiting for his dad to pick him up. Hagen Jacobs, a family friend, recalled: "[She] had the best personality. Police believe the recording was made just before the crime took place. Allens defense team also asked a question posed by many since the probable cause affidavit was released: Why did the prosecutor say in a Nov. 22 hearing that authorities have a good reason to believe that Allen is not the only person involved in the killings when no one else was mentioned in the probable cause affidavit or the news conference announcing Allens arrest? In both cases, family members were seemingly ruled out as suspects, meaning that a strange individual - who was likely previously unknown to the victims - had abducted and killed the girls. Manion, the league's official photographer. The girls' families are also looking forward to opening the Abby and Libby Memorial Park in Delphi this year, and hope to host a softball tournament at the site soon, German says. As of this moment, it is not believed that Nations is an active suspect in the case - despite so many of the early details seeming to match up. We don't know that for sure, but he obviously went upstairs. Just know how grateful I am for all of you. WebThere might not be direct sexual assault, but it wouldnt make sense that a male would kill two girls unless he got aroused or received SOMETHING from it. It just seems like, 'Man, it's been another month and we still don't have answers.' And in the end, they died together, in the same room, in the same bed the beauty of the two always being together comforts us., Xana Kernodle fought back. On December 4th, 2018, he was officially charged with 17 felony counts, and was even later implicated in another crime in a neighboring county. In the year leading up to this point, Abby and Libby had become incredibly close; as had their families. However, Chadwell is now facing While Delphi has an incredibly small population - less than 3,000 people call Delphi "home" - roughly a quarter-million people live in the region defined as the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. sexually motivated murders don't always need to include rape or molestation. At least, not immediately. A few days before, they announced that they would be moving the case in a "new direction," and were expected to reveal significant news at a press conference. The man had been threatening people with a hatchet on a hiking trail, at around the same time that a bicyclist had been shot dead on the same trail. On Monday, Indiana State Police announced Mr Allen is charged with two counts of murder and has pleaded not guilty. The loved ones of Abby and Libby continue to speak to the press and raise awareness for the investigation, having started an initiative in 2017 to install orange light bulbs all throughout Indiana. Many believe that this might have eventually led to the recent overhaul, and now - with more than one state agency looking over the case, with cooperation from federal investigators - many believe that the killer's capture is imminent. At the time of the murder, Logan had owned that property for more than 50 years, and he was questioned by police several times over the next several weeks. She also loved other activities that engaged her creatively; in addition to reading, she loved photography, art, and drawing. The man dressed in blue jeans, a blue jacket and a hoodie was photographed on a nature trial around the same time the two girls disappeared. Three days later, that same judge issued a gag order, barring prosecutors, defense attorneys, the coroner, and family members, among others, from commenting on the case publicly or to the media in any form including posting on social media. All Rights Reserved. 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